Upon completing offseason moves to bring in Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, the Los Angeles Lakers were immediately hailed as one of a select few title contenders.

Of course, that projection hasn’t come to pass with 40 percent of their season already chalked up to injury, instability and inefficiency.

With each loss in their 15-18 season, the stack of quotable comments grows. One statement sticks out as an obvious shift in expectation: Coach Mike D’Antoni’s proclamation that the Lakers, who currently sit at 11th in the Western Conference standings, could still “mathematically” make the playoffs.

But in order to drop games to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings—teams with absolutely no chance of making the playoffs—the Lakers must have some numbers working against their effort to make the postseason. In fact, as you’ll see, the list is quite long.

Use arrow keys to navigate

1

of 6

Defense wins championships

Each of the past five NBA champions excelled on defense en route to an NBA title. Dating back to the Boston Celtics’ No.1 defense in 2007-08, no champion has rated outside the Top 10 in defensive efficiency. This year’s Lakers currently sit 19th in defensive efficiency, with a high turnover ratio to feed into an overall inability to stop opponents.

2

of 6

A point of debate

Chris Duhon and Darius Morris can be serviceable at times, neither can be the starter on a title-worthy team at any time. Duhon and Morris have combined to start 24 games for the Lakers as Nash and Steve Blake missed significant time with injury.

3

of 6

Vintage Kobe

Although the Lakers as a whole have struggled, Kobe Bryant is playing some of his best basketball in recent years. His player efficiency rating of 25.63 is the highest he has posted since 2006-07 (26.13). The fact Bryant hasn’t lost a step in his 17th season is a credit to his dedication, but the Lakers’ continued struggles then are a reflection of his teammates’ struggles.

4

of 6

Distribution a tall order

Three players in the Lakers’ regular rotation stand taller than 6-foot-11, with two being All-Star performers in Howard and Pau Gasol, and the other being Jordan Hill. Even with this obvious size advantage in a shrinking league, 30 percent of Laker field-goal attempts come from 3-point range. And while that might not seem like a high number, factor that Bryant shoots 28.6 percent of Los Angeles’ 2-point attempts. What room does that leave for Howard and Gasol to operate?

5

of 6

Texas two-step

A large part of the Lakers’ struggles have been because of injury, as was apparent when news broke Howard tore the labrum in his right shoulder and Gasol sustained a concussion in Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets. But the No. 58 holds no significance for Howard, referring only to the combined games missed by Nash, Gasol and Blake. That number is sure to grow with Gasol set to miss Los Angeles’ trip to Texas to play Houston and San Antonio. If injuries continue to accumulate at this rate, there’s no way the Lakers can find a real rhythm down the stretch.

6

of 6

The cost of free throws

There are 450 roster spots in the NBA, and at least 132 of the players filling them shoot free throws better than Howard. At 50.8 percent from the free-throw line, he rates No. 133 in free-throw proficiency among players on pace to make 125 free throws. It appeared Howard had begun to shoot better from the line. After shooting 45.1 percent in the month of November, he improved to 56.6 in December. Three games into the new year, however, he’s reverted back to 44.4 percent. The hack-a-Howard strategy is already in play, so there’s nothing stop teams from using the ploy in meaningful games.